Friday, November 20, 2009

i meant to post this one during the "depression" last march, but i was prolly a little too tipsy and confused. now that my head is clear and the next "recession" is on the horizon,i thought i'd stick it up here."Songs of death, destruction and disaster, recorded by black and white performers from the dawn of American roots recording are here, assembled together for the first time. Whether they document world-shattering events like the sinking of the Titanic or memorialize long forgotten local murders or catastrophes, these 70 recordings - over 30 never before reissued - are audio messages in a bottle reflecting a lost world where age old ballads rubbed up against songs inspired by the day's headlines."you can listen to the whole album if you just keep the website open...link

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

cuz steampunk stuff sort of annoys me. an old friend and ex-coworker sari from the infamous martini bar of prague in the early 90's has come up with this great idea of how mask a solar charger in an old book->

"Solar charger finished... with carrying case made from a book.

Background:

Needed a hinged case to house the components - wanted to add warmth to the cold components, something which naturally would not short out the circuit or heat up easily and be a simple form factor (the original project suggests an altoid tin).

Technique inspired by the Burroughs and Gysin cut up method, aesthetic derived from A Humument by Tom Phillips (an artist book created from a Victorian novel).

This project was a true lesson in materials... slow going and things broke and needed to be repaired. Humbling. And I have yet to understand it from an energy perspective."

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

the buckminster fuller challenge has a really interesting submission. i wouldn't have thought about this, being a rich american, but people living in the slum's have terrible access to toilet's. "650 people share each toilet cubicle" is just a loosing proposition. i mean thinking of it logically- 650 people- one toilet. you'd have to take a shit, then get back into line for the next day. that's not right.hopefully bucky's ghost will save the day, proving once again that the circle has much more power than the square.

"Digester: Mixes water and human waste in anaerobic conditions to make biogas; remaining liquid effluent is 90% pathogen free and filtered on site. • BioGas: Used for cooking and can be linked to children’s feeding projects. It reduces carbon emissions by converting methane to CO2 and water and by substituting the need for other fuels. "